Who is Cheap Jack from London Labour and the London Poor and what is their importance?

The Cheap Jack was a salesperson who delivered persuasive sales pitches at fairs and other public places. Often, the claims of the Cheap Jack were highly exaggerated, if not outright lies. Most customers knew this, although some very naive ones may have believed his claims. The Cheap Jack's parents were costermongers, and both alcoholics. At a very young age, he was forced to sell items in the streets, and never attended school. When he did not sell enough on any one particular day, he was brutally beaten by his father. After one such beating when he was eight years old, the Cheap Jack ran away from home. He continued to sell matches, often sleeping in the streets and eating scraps from the trash. After two years he began to sell sheet music in bars, entertaining sailors by singing the songs. Eventually as a teenager he was hired by another Cheap Jack to shill goods at fairs. He was able to earn enough at this trade to marry and start a family. Having worked for 25 years, he heard that his father died but no longer knew if his mother was alive or not.